


The princes of the earth

by purplejabberwocky



Category: Tales of Link (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 06:03:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13541274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplejabberwocky/pseuds/purplejabberwocky
Summary: After Sairan, the Great Savior and friends must go over the mountains. Of course, given the state of the world, there's something there waiting.





	The princes of the earth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Makari Crow (Beanna)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beanna/gifts).



 

_The prince of the kingdom of evil withstood me one and twenty days; but one of the chief princes of the earth came to help me._

_Daniel 10:13_

 

The mountains look high from a distance, but up close they’re even higher. You look up and up to see the peaks shrouded with clouds. You’re supposed to be looking for gear to go north over the range, but it’s hard to look at the sheer cliffs and not believe there might be something there waiting. So far, there always has been; and you don’t have the allies here you did in Sairan. The thought makes your stomach churn.

“Great Saviour!”

You turn as Lippy bounds onto the wall beside you, Sara close behind.

“There you are,” says Sara with a smile. “We found somewhere which sells cold-weather gear. I think this will fit you.” She holds out a fur-lined coat which you take, making an attempt to return her smile. Sara’s brow crinkles. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” you assure her, and look up at the mountain. “It’s just – tall. I can’t help but feel like something is waiting for us up there.”

“I must confess, I feel the same way,” Lippy agrees, sitting with his tail curled around him to follow your gaze. “It’s easy to forget how much space a mountain inhabits. And the weather can be atrocious.”

“We’ll be okay,” Sara declares. “We just have to be prepared. A prepared adventurer is the one who sees the trail through.”

You intend to answer, but past Sara’s shoulder you see a flash of red and an unexpectedly familiar face. “Look. Isn’t that Lloyd?”

“Huh?” Sara turns and a grin spreads across her face, and she waves. “Oh, hey. Lloyd!”

Lloyd turns, surprise written all over his face. Even his grin when he sees you doesn’t hide the worry in his eyes. “Oh, hey, guys! What are you all doing up here?”

“We’re heading north, Master Lloyd,” answers Lippy. “What are _you_ doing here? Are you doing some work for Liard-Bell?”

“Not exactly.” Lloyd glances behind him and then comes closer, so you can talk without people passing between you. He’s followed by a tall man with luxurious blue hair and armour which isn’t anything like what you’ve seen in the region. It’s plated, but only in parts around his hips and shoulders, covered by a cloak. “This is Yuan. He’s a friend of my dad’s.”

“Yuan …?” Lippy murmurs, craning his head upward to see Yuan’s face.

“It’s nice to meet you,” says Sara with her customary smile.

Yuan crosses his arms and gives the three of you a studying look with sharp green eyes. “So you know Lloyd.”

His voice is raspy, edged with irritation.

“Uh … yeah.” Sara glances your way, uncertainty on her face, and then rallies. “We met him in –”

“The details don’t matter to me.”

This time Sara’s look toward you speaks volumes: _This guy’s a friend of Lloyd’s?_

“My dad was meant to meet me here,” Lloyd explains. “He travels around a lot, so when he’s in the area we try and get together. The trouble in Sairan kept me from getting here on time, but he should still _be_ here. Dad’s really busy, but when he says he’s going to be somewhere, he’s there.”

“And the last I heard from him, there was something he was going to investigate in the area,” Yuan adds. “Given the ruinators in Sairan, I doubt it’s anything less than that hereabouts.”

“If I may ask, Lord Yuan, whereabouts in the area?” Lippy asks, bringing out his smartphon to pull up a map.

_Lord Yuan?_ Sara mouths to you as Yuan steps closers. You shrug at Sara. It _is_ strange. Everyone so far has been ‘Lady’ or ‘Master’, to Lippy, except for Asbel; and that’s because he actually is a lord.

Yuan points to a section of the mountain range further to the west than your target.

“My smartphone isn’t sensing anything in that direction,” Lippy says doubtfully.

“I’m just telling you what he told me,” Yuan says curtly, folding his arms under his cloak. “If you’re not sensing anything, there must be something wrong with your device.”

“My goddess just scrubbed it of outside forces,” Lippy answers, sounding ever so slightly miffed. It’s hard to tell, but you’ve known him for a while now, and there’s an extra edge of courtly in his tone.

“We were just about to go have a look,” Lloyd interjects. “I know you guys probably have a lot to do, but if there’s a ruinator nearby, would you mind coming with?”

“Of course!” Sara exclaims. “Ruinators are our business. Judging by Sairan, they’re probably getting really strong. You could use the backup. Right?”

She glances at you and you nod. So does Lippy. Yuan snorts and turn to stride away. “Do as you like.”

“Um …” Sara watches him go, looking taken aback. “I guess he’s really worried?” Her words have the cadence of a question, the way they do when she’s trying to make sense of someone being rude.

“Yeah, he is.” Lloyd’s following her gaze, his brow crinkling. “I mean — this is what he’s like normally too. But Dad’s his best friend. So he’s worried.”

“If I may ask, Master Lloyd,” Lippy interjects. His smartphon is out again, and his ears pull it close to his face. It’s his most concentrated look. “What’s your father’s name?”

Lloyd hesitates. “It’s kind of a long story. I don’t think we have time. We’d better catch up to Yuan, or he’ll leave us all behind.”

“Of course!” Sara snaps almost to attention. “We were just finished here anyway. Let’s go.”

“Thanks, guys.” Lloyd’s gratitude suffuses his face. Sara gives him a smile. Lippy tucks away his smartphon and jumps down from the wall. You trail after them, glancing up at the mountain. If Yuan is right, so are you. There’s something in those mountains.

 

It’s not the first time you’ve all been in mountains, but these are especially cold and wet. You trudge through drizzling rain, hood pulled up and bags damp despite oilskin covers. Lloyd seems even more eager to talk than he was when you first met, but you can tell he’s trying to distract himself. You and Sara try to help by telling him about the friends and allies you’ve made in Sairan, but as time wears on even Sara gets too cold and tired to speak.

Yuan doesn’t speak at all. He doesn’t seem to get cold, either. You watch him when you can, the way he’s hidden under the voluminous cloak, the way he impatiently shakes back damp hair and doesn’t shiver. The gradient of the path doesn’t seem to faze him either. The four of you are left ten feet behind, except when Lloyd or Lippy call out; and then Yuan stops on a ridge further up, turned outward to the slopes, and waits for the rest of you to catch up.

Lippy had called him ‘Lord’ Yuan. You ponder that as you walk, calves aching and breath seeming only willing to come briefly to call before escaping your lungs again.

Only Asbel had been a lord — but Lippy hadn’t known _his_ name offhand. So why did he know Yuan’s?

(It niggles, that sense of familiarity; the notion of something you’ve heard before, locked behind the blank greyness of your past.)

The first night is as damp as the day, but the drizzle eases so the morning is overcast but at least not dully miserable.

“Lord Yuan, would you like some breakfast?” Lippy asks politely from his place at the campfire.

“I’m fine,” is Yuan’s brusque answer. He’s standing aside, turned toward the mountain, arms crossed beneath his cloak. Last night, when the rest of you spoke quietly over cups of hot soup, Yuan had stood away.

“Has he even moved since last night?” Sara asks softly.

“He’s really worried,” Lloyd says again, packing up the few things he took out, and getting up to douse the fire.

You don’t say anything. But you don’t remember seeing Yuan sleep.

The path is less steep now you’re higher up, and there’s more cover with trees and stone. Lippy pokes at his smartphon as he walks, so you pick him up before he crashes into something.

“Thank you, Great Savior,” he murmurs, and then lapses into silence. You glance at Sara. She’s already looking back.

“Lippy, is something wrong?” she asks.

“I’m not sure, Lady Sara.” Lippy’s head is still bent over the smartphon. “I’m receiving some very strange readings, and yet —”

“There’s something ahead,” says Yuan briskly from ten feet in front. You all glance up. He’s standing on a rock, and points down the path, where the ridge ends and the trail dips.

“I agree.” Lippy cranes his head back at you. “But my smartphon still isn’t picking up the presence of a ruinator.” He doesn’t sound happy. In fact, he sounds worried.

“But your smartphon …” Sara bites her lip. “If there is a ruinator here, why aren’t you picking it up?”

“If you’d hurry your pace a little,” Yuan cuts in, “you’d be able to _see_.”

Sara cringes but Lloyd moves faster, and you keep Lippy in your arms to break into a run so you can see what Yuan’s seeing. He points imperiously down the path, and you look on the semi-translucent wall of power shimmering in the mid-morning dew. It arcs over the tree-tops, covering the small valley nestled between mountains.

“A protective field!” Lippy exclaims, wriggling so you let him go. He drops to the ground on surefooted paws. “No wonder my smartphon wasn’t picking anything up!”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Lloyd drops his pack and stares down at it, hand resting on the pommel of a sword. “They’d need to set this up. Why go to all the trouble of putting this all the way out here, unless —” He glances at Yuan.

“They intended to keep someone in,” Yuan finishes for him.

“Like who?” Sara asks. “Why would they go through all the trouble —”

Yuan shakes his head and steps off his rock. “Stow your baggage under the rock. Prepare your weapons.”

“How are we going to get in?” Sara does as he asks and turns so you can hand her your pack. She meets your gaze and musters a smile. “I guess he knows what he’s doing?”

“Lloyd seems to think so,” you point out, bending to remove from your bag the tray of infused stones which are your weapon.

“I guess.” Sara checks her sword in her scabbard, and glances at Yuan, who is framed against the warping shimmer of the shield. “But that’s a really powerful shield. There’s not going to be an easy way in.”

“Yuan will take care of it,” Lloyd says simply, dropping his luggage and turning to stride toward the barrier, drawing his swords with a snick.

You give Sara a quick smile and she manages to summon one back. Then you both go to stand behind Yuan. He turns his head, but not enough to see his face. “You say you’ve fought ruinators in Sairan.”

Sara draws herself upright. “That’s right.”

“Then you know what to expect.”

“Yes. There’s usually a few waves of low-grade monsters. Taking them out right away is the best bet, before taking on he ruinator.”

Quietly you kneel, resting the tray on your knee so you can lift the lid and remove your preferred stones, tuck them into the pockets on the strap. The strap goes across your back, so the tray sits against your hip; you make sure it’s untwisted, so you can reach your stones at will.

“Leave the ruinator to me,” Yuan is saying. “The rest of you make sure none of the monsters escape.”

“But —”

“Do as I say!” This is barked, sharp and raspy, and Yuan raises a hand. You stand and brace yourself with an exhale, keeping the tray latched for now.

Light blooms from Yuan’s back, softly lavender and glittering. It arcs into the shape of petals, crystalline hard but looking to have the texture of silk. Sara gasps; you stare. Your heart pounds. You’ve seen wings like that before —

Lightning crackles and Yuan’s cloak blows back, static charging along ground and fabric. He stands framed in purple light growing stronger; the barrier ripples, lets out a sound like a twisted bell. It makes your teeth ache, that sound.

Lines run across the barrier like a cracking shell. The translucence turns opaque as the cracks solidify, and then abruptly the barrier snaps, lightning bursting from all the places it had broken. You cover your eyes against the light, your head swimming. Lippy exclaims as his smartphon alarm goes off, and someone’s shouting in your head, making your ears ring.

_Yuan! Do you hear me?! Lloyd? Anybody …_

There’s an edge of despair in that deep voice, and a crushing weariness that nearly makes your knees buckle. Yuan curses and you blink away shapes in your vision in time to see him reach behind him and pull from nowhere a two-sided blade taller than he is. His voice comes forceful in your head.

_We’re coming. Hold on!_

There’s a crack of lightning and a flash, and he vanishes. Lloyd rushes forward down the trail, Lippy bounding after him; you follow with Sara at your back, reaching for the stones on your belt. The valley is small. There won’t be much distance to cover.

Ten feet down the path, you hear Lloyd’s shout and the roar of monsters attacking. Lippy’s artes flash.

“Over here,” Sara cries, and she darts past you to a ledge overlooking the gully, sword lashing out at the few flying monsters in range. You pass her to step onto the ledge, leaving her to guard it — and you.

You take a breath, let it out slowly, and kneel. The path below is swamped by monsters, a veritable ocean in such a tiny valley; Lloyd’s swords flash steel as he takes the path, inch by inch, with Lippy harrying the monsters around, darting under feet. You reach for the stones on your belt. There’s nine — there’s only ever nine. Nine, and the Guardians Three inset into the knuckles of your left hand, and the three empty pearls of beckoning intent on your right.

These days it takes less effort than it did to close your eyes and breathe, to ignore the sounds of battle around you and the sickening roll in your gut that is the fear someone might die while you can’t see it. The prayer which resonates in your chest is something you can never call consciously to mind, but when you need it, it’s there, accompanied by sharp-edged intent and a _command_. The empty stones on your right glove bloom with colour; it feels warm like a hug, that sensation of absent friends lending power in thoughts.

The stones in your hands grow warm with the essence of the heroes in your hands, and now you open your eyes, extending your hand with stones between fingers to cast into the melee of shrieking bodies and flashing claws. Heroes emerge translucent and darting, a heavy pressure of awareness behind your eyes; they descend at the monsters, weapons ringing.

You don’t know their names. You’ve never known their names, except the few you’ve met in person.

_Expert Lancer. Enlightened Warrior Asbel. Encounter with Fury. Wicked Vampire. Blademagic Master …_

The Blademagic Master bursts forth in lightning which obliterates the treetops and Sara yelps with the surprise you feel but can’t let show. His sword cuts through the line of monsters in front of Lloyd, his face set with stony rage; green light shines as minor wounds and weariness heal.

The heroes warp to their stones and you trade them out for those channeling the power of friends from your glove, combining them with the four you have left, linking them to grow their powers.

_Sin Bearer. Swordswoman. Master of Space-Time. Celestial Judgement._

It’s the same man. You know it’s the same man, hard of face with ruffled hair; and this version of him erupts from the stone in light and on blue silken wings, wordless wrathful shout a pressure in your head. A targeted dozen of the monsters dissolve beneath beams of energy, clearing the path for Lloyd.

The path down is open, but the gully isn’t, and those monsters capable of flight lift skyward to come at you with shrieks. Sara takes them on with her sword of light darting this way and that. You cast again and again, prayers and titles falling easily from your lips. The Blademagic Master’s healing arte activates every single time; Celestial Judgement takes hits aimed toward Lloyd and sends power back with sword and shield. Always defending Lloyd. The rest of your summoned heroes seem content to fight any old monster, seem willing to engage with those taking flight — but not those two.

The ranks of monsters get thinner.

“Look!” Sara takes the opportunity of a moment’s peace to point into the gully. The ruinator almost fills it, whole trees trampled under claw; but now you can see that what had looked like shadows between rocks and bulk are more monsters still. Between bodies are darting shafts of blue and lavender light, and the flash of lightning off a spinning blade longer than a man. The blue light pauses for just long enough to for you to see through it a mercenary’s armour, like that worn by the Blademagic Master, and the crystalline blue wings of Celestial Judgement — before a monster lunges and he darts away.

“They can’t take out the ruinator when they’re being harried like that,” Sara says grimly, and you nod. Your lips feel cracked, your lungs tired; but you can see through the first ranks of monsters now. You can see to help. And Lloyd and Lippy have reached the bottom of the trail. Lippy glances up at you; Sara signals him, and he turns toward Lloyd, bouncing as he speaks quickly. Lloyd looks heartsick and grimly determined.

Sara turns to you, mouth open to ask; you nod before she can. “Go.”

Without another word she turns and leaps the crack separating the ledge, and races down the trail as fast as she can manage.

You take deep breaths between even counts. Lloyd’s shout rises as he and Lippy engage the monsters flank. And Sara going to join them …

And you up here, in a nook of the mountain looking down.

You lift the stones and reach out for the will of the friends in distance parts, and cast.

_Master of Space-Time. Wicked Vampire. Celestial Judgement. Charming Master._

Monsters roar, but it’s nothing compared to the shriek of the ruinator. You see bodies falling through the translucent forms of the heroes you cast, and the debris-strewn ground below becomes clearer. Your friends press on the flank and draw more of the monsters away, and for a moment the clearing almost clear — save for the ruinator.

Blue meets lavender and the pressure building is exactly the sort you feel behind your eyes when Celestial Judgement casts his arte; but this is outside of you, in the air. Your skin prickles. Purple light grows blinding, and you hear a silent shout.

_Fist of Heaven!_

Great bolts of energy strike the ruinator square, scouring away scales and wings and flesh; thick arcs of lightning sink deep through hide, tearing through the ruinator’s chest. Its dying shriek pierces your ears and you gasp, bending inward, your prayer disrupted. The ground shakes, the ledge crumbling away beneath your knees. You leap away and cover the space between ledge and trail at a run, catching yourself on a rock. The far side of the cliff splinters and plummets into the gully with an earsplitting roar, consuming trees and stone. You cling to rock until the earthquake subsides, and when you look up, the gully is gone, replaced by a cloud of dust.

Your chest constricts. “Sara! Lippy!”

“We’re here.”

A lavender glow shows first through the dust, shaped like petals; but Sara arrives before it, stumbling out with her empty sword-hilt in one hand and her other covering her mouth. Lippy and Lloyd are behind her, Lloyd looking back; and then, last, comes Yuan, wings still bared but sword absent. And limp in his arms — mercenary’s armor. Ruffled red hair.

Your heart shrivels and you take a step forward, but Sara cuts you off before you can say anything. “It’s okay! He’s — okay. He just collapsed right after he and Yuan pulled off that arte.” She glances anxiously back. “He _is_ okay, right?”

“He’ll be fine.” Yuan’s voice is clipped and his stride is fast and long; you have to break into a jog to keep ahead and out of his way. “But he needs rest. We’ll make camp up by the boulder.”

Lloyd says nothing. When you glance back, anxiousness is clear in his face, and he can’t stop looking back at the man cradled against Yuan’s chest.

“Great Savior.” Lippy’s firm voice brings you back around. “We should go ahead.”

“… Right.” You nod, and break into a run with Sara beside you and Lippy bounding a foot in front. Questions will have to wait.

 

You make camp hastily, clearing ground; but when Yuan and Lloyd arrive, neither of them seem to care much about blankets and pallets. Yuan, his wings vanished, goes to the rock and sits at its base, arranging Lloyd’s father against his chest with the swordsman’s head on Yuan’s shoulder. Lloyd sits quietly nearby, with three swords in his lap and his gaze on his dad.

You look away, instead busying yourself with collecting rocks to circle the fire Lippy is creating. It takes some time for the fire to be properly burning, but when you glance over your shoulder, the others haven’t moved. Yuan has his head resting against the boulder, his arms cradling Lloyd’s father. Lloyd has moved only to set his back against stone, his swords up against his shoulder.

“We’d best leave them alone for the time being,” Lippy says in undertone. “I’d best make some lunch.”

“Lippy,” Sara whispers, “did you know who Yuan was?”

Lippy pauses in rifling through his bag. “I confess, Lady Sara, I have heard the name before.”

“Who _is_ he? Who are they? I know a lot of beings exist in the Heavens, but I thought they were mostly sprites and human-like beings.”

You wait, your gaze on Lippy just as Sara’s is, until Lippy turns around with utensils to set lunch going.

“Lord Yuan isn’t an envoy of the Heavens,” Lippy says. “If anything, he’s an envoy of Liafyse _to_ the Heavens — though he is, certainly, divine.”

Sara looks baffled. “I didn’t know Liafyse had envoys.”

Lippy looks up solemnly. “But of course, Laady Sara. In fact, they do some of the most important work. You’re familiar, of course, with mana.”

“Of course!” Sara nods firmly. “It cycles through the Heavens and the earth, keeping us connected.”

“There are places in both Heaven and earth which regulate the flow of mana,” says Lippy. “On Liafyse, the single most important point of mana production is known as the Great Tree. It’s guarded by a powerful spirit — and the angels of Cruxis guard her.”

Sara’s eyes widen. Your stomach falls. “Lippy, what would happen if a ruinator managed to infect the Tree?”

Lippy nods. “Precisely so, Great Savior. If the Great Tree of Kharlan were to be infected, why, I should think all of Liafyse would fall; and the infection would surely provide a pathway to the Heavens themselves.”

Sara looks toward Yuan and Lloyd, biting her lip. “So Lloyd’s dad is —”

“I believe he is Lord Kratos, Lord Yuan’s brother-in-arms. Lord Yuan rarely leaves the Spirit’s side, but Lord Kratos frequently embarks into the world to oversee its workings. Together they command the angels who do the Spirit Martel’s bidding across Liafyse in the name of safeguarding its mana.”

“So they did set a trap for him.” Your voice sounds hollow. “If Lord Kratos had been infected, and gone back to the Tree …”

“I shudder to think, Great Savior. Only something of such great importance could have prompted Lord Yuan to leave the Tree.”

You all fall silent, then, watching the three still figures on the other side of the fire, half-shadows with the firelight blocking the view. After a while, Sara stirs to look over the hilt of her light-sword, and Lippy resumes cooking. But you stay as you are, watching the angels and Lloyd.

You only stir when Lippy pronounces lunch ready, and remain silent through it. After you’ve eaten, you set your tray of stones across your lap, taking off your gloves and the belt across your chest to pull stones from their sockets. The souls of the heroes glove faintly in their pockets, each one different. You watch them to see colours shift and the translucent suggestion of images within. Even the ones which bear the same souls display differences between them.

After a moment you move to rearrange the stones, patiently sorting through your sets, until Lloyd’s stone sits above the two which belong to his father. It’s a surprise when a foot falls before you, and you look up to see Lloyd has stirred. Tense concern has faded to tired curiosity.

“How’s your dad?” you ask.

Lloyd manages a smile. “He’ll be okay. Yuan says his mana’s stabilised.”

“That was a concern?” Sara asks.

Lloyd’s face tightens. “He’s been fighting that thing for twenty-one days without stopping, and no one to help him.”

“Only an angel could survive for so long under such circumstances,” Lippy murmurs. “It’s fortunate we came when we did.”

“Yeah.” Lloyd takes a seat next to you, fingers brushing along the hilt of the sword he’s still carrying. It isn’t one of his. Those are still sitting next to Yuan. He looks at your tray of stones. “Are those what you use for stonecanting?”

You nod. He seems like he wants a distraction. “These are the souls of heroes captured in stones.”

Lloyd stares down at them, a furrow in his brow. “I know I’ve seen you use them the last time we met. But this time it really felt like — I mean —”

“I know,” you say, and give him a smile when he looks up. “I’d seen wings like Yuan’s before too.” You point. “This is your stone.” Your finger brushes across the two under it. “These are his.”

“Oh,” Lloyd says softly, and then a smile grows on his face. “Hey. You put them together.”

“Yeah.” You pick up Celestial Judgement carefully. Colour billows under your fingers. “It’s strange. I never know their names, unless I meet them in person. I just know the aspect of the soul inside the stone. That one is the Blademagic Master. This one is Celestial Judgement. He’s always looked so stern, I wouldn’t have imagined that he might have a kid. But stonecanting draws in the essences of heroes. They don’t lie.”

You close your fingers around the stone and murmur the prayer to set him loose. There’s a waft of air and coloured light unfolds from the stone like tendrils; primarily blue, but silver and red and as well. They furl into the translucent shape of the hero you do know, with sharp crystalline wings and a hard face.

Before he finishes materialising, he’s looking at Lloyd, and his face isn’t hard now. It’s soft instead, and loving, and filled with an aching sort of wonder, and he raises a hand to brush it across Lloyd’s hair, gentle as a whispering breeze.

Then he fades and the stone in your hand grows warm as he fills it once more. Lloyd opens his mouth and nothing comes out. He clears his throat and says quietly, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” You put the Celestial Judgement stone back in its pocket, beneath Lloyd’s. “Now you’ll always be together.”

Lloyd’s smile then is radiant as his father’s wings.

 

You take turns keeping watch the rest of the day and that night, but nothing disturbs the camp. Once or twice on your watch, you glance over and see Yuan looking your way, his eyes glinting green in the firelight; but he says nothing and you don’t disturb him. There’s a faint lavender glow about him and Kratos. Lloyd had said that his father needed some help with his mana, after all.

The night passes quietly. The next morning when you stir and roll over, the boulder is lonely. You sit up and look around, and only then do you see Lloyd with Yuan and Kratos, further down the path.

“Good morning, Great Savior,” says Lippy from the fire, where the scent of bacon is making itself known.

“Morning.” You stifle a yawn and rub your eyes, and get up to join Lippy and Sara by the fire.

Sara’s watching the trio down the path. “I guess he’s okay.” She purses her lips. “He really does look stern, doesn’t he?”

You glance behind you. Kratos’s face is impassive but his hand is on Lloyd’s shoulder, and the way he stands close makes you think of the expression on his aspect’s face yesterday. Lloyd keeps looking up at him with relief and something close to adoration.

“He’s quite well-known for it, in the Heavens,” Lippy says with a polite cough.

Sara frowns and looks at him. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“I’ve heard,” Lippy adds hastily, and before either of you can press him for more information, the other three come back up the path. Sara jumps up, and you scramble to your feet.

“Good morning! I hope you’re feeling better?” Sara peers hopefully at Kratos.

He inclines his head. “I do. Thank you.”

His voice is deep and even, faintly gravelly. So that’s what he sounds like.

“We were just talking about what we’re going to do next,” says Lloyd. He’s still leaning against Kratos, one hand on his father’s wrist as if to keep his arm around his shoulders. “Dad and I had been planning to see if anyone needs help in Sairan, but instead we’ll scout around this area for any more ruinators or agents of Nidhogg.”

“I have some escort work to do shortly in this area, besides,” Kratos adds. “It would be best if the route was cleared beforehand.”

“Really?” Sara asks with a little smile. “An angel of Martel does escort work? That’s cool.”

Kratos’s head tips. Yuan makes an aggrieved sound. “I should have known a sprite couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

Sara’s face reddens. “W- well — it wasn’t like you were _hiding_ it! You had wings all over the place! Don’t blame Lippy.”

Lippy coughs. “Thank you, Lady Sara. In all fairness, Lord Yuan, I really could not hide it.”

“Tch.” Yuan glances away, looking disgruntled.

Lloyd’s laughing. “The person he’s escorting is _really important_ to his work, anyway. And sometime soon I need to get back to Liard-Bell to take care of another one. He sometimes does stupid stuff when I’m not looking.”

“Mmh.” Kratos squeezes Lloyd’s shoulder slightly. “We’re fortunate he’s taken an interest in you. It does make things easier. We might have a need of him, given the current climate.”

“What about you, Lord Yuan?” you ask. He glances back with an impatient flick of his hair.

“I’ll be going back to the Tree. If this is the sort of thing the agents of Nidhogg are going to pull, we need to tighten security around the Spirit. I don’t want to leave her alone for long.”

“Surely not right away, Lord Yuan,” Lippy protests. “Breakfast is nearly prepared!”

“I don’t need to eat.”

“That’s a pity,” Kratos murmurs, looking down at Lloyd rather than up at Yuan. “Martel would have appreciated the chance to hear about your new friends.”

A few disparate emotions cross Yuan’s face. Irritation. Exasperation. Guilt. Affection. More irritation. “Oh, _fine_. But only because she’d expect me to give her a thorough report on your wellbeing.”

This time, Lloyd isn’t the only one laughing.


End file.
